In November of last year, Miss America contestant Allyn Rose discovered that she had inherited a high genetic risk of breast cancer. She decided to get a double mastectomy—but only if she didn't win the pageant. But Even this wasn't enough of a kotow to the powers of pageantry. When she went public with her decision,…

Most women who undergo hysterectomies are left with multi-inch incisions above the pubic hair line. But a new case report in the Journal of Minimal Access Surgery found that robots, using a three-dimensional view and precise "chopstick" arm movements, can perform the same surgery using only a single point of entry,…

• A 91-year-old pharmacy cashier tried to fight off a robber who grabbed a handful of cash from her register. "I want him to get caught because I want to smack him," said Florence Critelli after the attack.

• Today a group of archeologists, divers, and volunteers began the search for Gertrude Tompkins Silver, who served as a fighter pilot during WWII and has been missing since 1944. She is the only WASP still unaccounted for. •

Did you know that 33% of women will get a hysterectomy before they're 60? Doctors say that as many as two thirds of the 600,000 hysterectomies performed each year are unnecessary, according to MSNBC. There are also several alternatives to the whole-enchilada hysterectomy that can help relieve excessive menstrual pain.…